Hi David,

Welcome to PC!!!
I'm sorry you're struggling with this right now
But do you think part of it, is that it's edging on the obsessional side???
I mean it's great that you have an active mind, you're looking for answers, looking to make sense of things, to validate things.........but when it's taking over and having this sort of influence over your life/your feelings..........

And this "and try to focus my attentions on other things" absolutely you could try. You may need to find the right things for you to focus on but yes, it could work.
For example maybe you want to list/schedule what you want to try, and a variety of things..........so they may include something else challenging you can exercise your mind on, something more physically active, something more relaxing, some (maybe social?) time with others??
And maybe some of that discipline you've been putting into what you have been studying, you could try applying to some new/different routines???

And maybe you're right in needing to completely stop reading philosophical stuff...........I don't know, it's kind of about what might work for you personally........but perhaps if stopping completely deprives you of a genuine passion/the possibility of turning it into a more "healthy" interest, or just makes more and more questions/thoughts go around in your mind you could try compartmentalizing it to set times when you're going to allow yourself to read/research..............and adapting to/accepting those set times with focus on other things outside of those times.............???
But for now..........it certainly sounds like you need some "time out" if you can push yourself to take that??

Alison